Summary

  • Bersatu info chief Tun Faisal criticises the Madani government over the RM10,000 compound MCMC issued to a party leader.

  • He compares this with fines given to paedophiles.

  • He asks whether the Madani government is leading the country towards autocracy with the suppression of dissenting voices.

Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz criticised the Madani government over the RM10,000 compound issued to a party leader by the MCMC.

He compared this with fines given to those who committed what he called more serious offences, such as four men found with more than 50,000 files of child sexual abuse material, who were slapped with RM3,000 and RM6,000 fines.

"An RM10,000 compound against an individual just for uploading a TikTok video shows that under the Madani government, freedom of expression is considered more dangerous than offences involving public safety and morals," Faisal said in a statement today.

He asked whether the country, under the Madani government, is heading towards autocracy due to the suppression of dissenting voices.

Yesterday, Hulu Langat Bersatu information chief Shafiq Abdul Halim said a group of MCMC officers allegedly visited his house to deliver a document which compelled him to settle an RM10,000 compound over an alleged offence.

He said the compound was over a social media post on the Kuala Lumpur Tower concession issue which allegedly violated Section 233(3) of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

The MCMC had said the compound was imposed on Shafiq for publishing "grossly offensive" content that touches on racial and religious sentiment.

It said that it had also received permission from the Attorney-General's Chambers to issue the compound.

Shafiq, however, denied the agency's allegation against him and claimed that he had provided all the relevant facts to investigators.

‘Suhakam, Bar invisible’

Commenting further, Faisal urged the Malaysian Bar and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to speak out on freedom of speech.

"Under this supposedly Madani government, the roles of the Bar and Suhakam seem weak and sluggish, or more accurately, their role is invisible," he said.

This is because they have been silent on the matter, he said, adding that it raises questions about their honesty in defending the rights of the people.

He further urged the government to cancel Shafiq's fine, saying that this event reflected barbarism rather than civility.

"This government should first prove that a legal offence has actually occurred, and the process cannot exceed or deny the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution.

"Any enforcement action must be carried out based on the principle of 'due process' or due process of justice," he said.